Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica
The observed acceleration of ice shelf basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica could destabilize continental ice sheets and markedly increase global sea level. Explanations for decadal-scale melt intensification have focused on processes local to shelf seas surrounding the ice shelves. A suite o...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 |
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craaas:10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 2024-06-23T07:46:55+00:00 Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica Flexas, M. Mar Thompson, Andrew F. Schodlok, Michael P. Zhang, Hong Speer, Kevin 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Advances volume 8, issue 32 ISSN 2375-2548 journal-article 2022 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 2024-06-13T04:01:14Z The observed acceleration of ice shelf basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica could destabilize continental ice sheets and markedly increase global sea level. Explanations for decadal-scale melt intensification have focused on processes local to shelf seas surrounding the ice shelves. A suite of process-based model experiments, guided by CMIP6 forcing scenarios, show that freshwater forcing from the Antarctic Peninsula, propagated between marginal seas by a coastal boundary current, causes enhanced melting throughout West Antarctica. The freshwater anomaly stratifies the ocean in front of the ice shelves and modifies vertical and lateral heat fluxes, enhancing heat transport into ice shelf cavities and increasing basal melt. Increased glacial runoff at the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the first signatures of a warming climate in Antarctica, emerges as a key trigger for increased ice shelf melt rates in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves West Antarctica AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula West Antarctica Science Advances 8 32 |
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AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
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English |
description |
The observed acceleration of ice shelf basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica could destabilize continental ice sheets and markedly increase global sea level. Explanations for decadal-scale melt intensification have focused on processes local to shelf seas surrounding the ice shelves. A suite of process-based model experiments, guided by CMIP6 forcing scenarios, show that freshwater forcing from the Antarctic Peninsula, propagated between marginal seas by a coastal boundary current, causes enhanced melting throughout West Antarctica. The freshwater anomaly stratifies the ocean in front of the ice shelves and modifies vertical and lateral heat fluxes, enhancing heat transport into ice shelf cavities and increasing basal melt. Increased glacial runoff at the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the first signatures of a warming climate in Antarctica, emerges as a key trigger for increased ice shelf melt rates in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Flexas, M. Mar Thompson, Andrew F. Schodlok, Michael P. Zhang, Hong Speer, Kevin |
spellingShingle |
Flexas, M. Mar Thompson, Andrew F. Schodlok, Michael P. Zhang, Hong Speer, Kevin Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
author_facet |
Flexas, M. Mar Thompson, Andrew F. Schodlok, Michael P. Zhang, Hong Speer, Kevin |
author_sort |
Flexas, M. Mar |
title |
Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
title_short |
Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
title_full |
Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic Peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout West Antarctica |
title_sort |
antarctic peninsula warming triggers enhanced basal melt rates throughout west antarctica |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves West Antarctica |
op_source |
Science Advances volume 8, issue 32 ISSN 2375-2548 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj9134 |
container_title |
Science Advances |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
32 |
_version_ |
1802649321651306496 |